Although the group already knew the specific location of the boss room, they still had to pass through a labyrinth zone during this time.
And the task of clearing such mobs naturally wouldn't require the main force. As a party of only three people, Kaede and the others naturally accepted this task.
While clearing the mobs, it was naturally Kirito at the front, while Kaede and Asuna followed on the left and right, defending against the sneak attacks of the surrounding mobs.
At this time, a part of Kaede's attention was on Kirito—no, to be precise, on Kirito's sword. Every strike was just right, and the connection between skills was also perfect.
Every time those mobs used a skill, Kirito was able to use precise strikes to directly interrupt the opponent's skill at the first moment, and then finish them off in a few hits.
'So amazing.' At this moment, Kaede couldn't help but have her eyes brighten, her attention unconsciously becoming focused. If she could also become that strong, the probability of surviving would be higher, right?
However, this caused the movements in Kaede's hands to slow down.
A mob lunged over at this moment. Kaede reacted and subconsciously wanted to block the monster's attack with her arm, but suddenly thought of Asuna's words, and then rolled away. As for her image, it didn't exist for Kaede.
However, Kaede forgot that Kirito was by her side. After she dodged, the mob's attack target immediately became Kirito.
'That bastard,' Kaede warned.
'Hm?' Kirito also noticed the mob coming from the side. After knocking back the monster in front of him, he backhanded his single-handed sword to block at his side.
"Kaede!" Kirito shouted at that moment.
"Yeah!" Kaede also reacted, seemingly realizing she had done something wrong, and stepped up to knock back the mob with a single sword strike.
"Why did you dodge? You could have just blocked it with your sword," Kirito said, looking at Kaede. It almost got him into serious trouble if not for his quick reflexes.
"But, Big Sister said that if you can dodge, you definitely should," Kaede said. Although she felt she might have made a mistake, she was still a bit confused; she trusted her sister.
"..." Kirito looked at Asuna, feeling a bit speechless.
"Ahem." Asuna's face flushed. She just didn't want Kaede to do that thing where she traded injury for life again; now that she thought about it, it did seem a bit excessive.
So, facing Kirito's gaze, Asuna turned her head away with a guilty conscience. "Um, listen to Kirito, but you are not allowed to use that method of blocking with your own body."
"Oh!" Kaede nodded. Since Asuna said so, that was fine. Besides, she didn't like constantly dodging back and forth either.
"Can you guys over there hurry up?" someone behind them said at this moment. Since Kaede and the others were talking, they naturally slowed down, which drew dissatisfaction from those behind them.
Diavel also looked at Kirito. Others hadn't noticed Kirito's fighting, but he had. Diavel was certain that this was also a beta tester.
And the reason others didn't notice was, first, because Asuna and Kaede were both wearing cloaks. If they took them off, their appearances would absolutely attract attention, and perhaps they would even have their combat tasks snatched away.
Second, their team had significantly fewer members than the other groups, so although Kirito was very strong, they were among the slowest in terms of speed, which naturally didn't attract anyone's attention.
Afterward, Kaede continued to observe Kirito's fighting along the way, but on the other hand, she didn't neglect her own duties, completing the task of defending the perimeter well as they charged all the way to the boss's gate.
It was a massive gate over ten meters high, carved with some ancient patterns.
Looking at the massive gate over ten meters high in front of them, the group's faces were a bit shocked.
Diavel also took a deep breath, walked to the front, looked at them, and said, "Now is the time to clear the boss. Let's work hard together! The groups clearing the mobs will be responsible for the guards around the boss, and as for the boss, leave it to us."
As Diavel spoke, he cast a casual glance at Kirito.
Kaede, standing behind Asuna, saw this but didn't say anything.
The people around them, however, looked both excited and fearful. Kaede, on the other hand, felt nothing; it wasn't like she was fighting the boss, and the rest shouldn't endanger them.
After pushing open the door to the boss room, they finally saw a kobold boss several people tall.
"Is this the boss?" Some people even began to show fear in their eyes.
Kobold Lord Ilfang. Its weapons were a bone axe, a small leather round shield, and a large Tachi. Following it were "Ruin Kobold Sentinels" wearing heavy metal armor and holding halberds; they usually appeared in groups of three.
At this moment, everyone was recalling the information about the boss from that booklet.
"Everyone, let's go!!" Diavel roared.
"Um." At this moment, Kaede looked at Kirito and Asuna.
"Hmm?"
"What's wrong?"
"Can I go in alone, and you guys just watch from the side? I want to test out some moves," Kaede said, scratching her head.
Asuna and Kirito exchanged a glance and finally nodded.
"However, if you can't handle it, we will step in." Since it was Kaede's first request and it wasn't dangerous, plus the two of them were watching from the side, Asuna agreed.
"Yeah!" Kaede nodded, immediately picked up her rapier, and lured one of the guards over.
Closing her eyes and recalling Kirito's movements, Kaede opened her eyes. There were no other distractions; now, in Kaede's eyes, there was only the enemy in front of her.
"Roar!!" At that moment, the guard roared and swung its axe down.
When the guard raised its axe, Kaede moved. With a spin of her body, she dodged the guard's axe directly, and at the same time, the rapier in her right hand struck the guard as she spun—the movements were smooth and continuous.
However, it didn't deal much damage to the guard. Sensing this, Kaede retreated again.
"Roar!" The guard roared, and light began to flash on its body; this was the signal that it was about to unleash a skill.
"Precise Strike!" Sensing the guard wanted to use a skill, Kaede immediately used Precise Strike. While interrupting the opponent's skill, she also managed to inflict a certain amount of stun time on the opponent.
And while the guard was stunned, Kaede simultaneously launched her ultimate move. This was the only time she could use it, because a player's ultimate move also required time.
"Tri-Flash!"
Points of light gathered on Kaede's rapier. By the time the guard regained consciousness, it was already too late.
The light had finished gathering on Kaede's sword. The next moment, Kaede's attack landed on the guard, forming a triangular sword gleam.
"Boom!" As a move with quite decent power, this attack of Kaede's sent the guard flying directly.
However, what caught Kaede off guard was that it didn't kill it. Only then did Kaede remember that there was a difference in attack power between her and Kirito. The opponent wasn't like those mobs, and she didn't have any skills she could use right now; they were all basically on cooldown.
Is she only able to use basic attacks from now on? Kaede wondered.
"That was already quite good." Kirito also saw Kaede's confusion and walked with Asuna to the front of Kaede.
"I am a beta tester, so I know more skills than you. Later on, you will also get more skills, and you will learn to use them reasonably. Besides, you don't need to imitate me in everything; just like your first strike, I wouldn't be able to do it without your agility," Kirito said, lifting the one-handed sword in his hand.
"Oh." Kaede nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
"Kaede, that was great!" Asuna, on the other hand, was very happy for Kaede from the side.
"Yeah." Hearing Asuna's words, Kaede nodded happily, and a smile immediately appeared on her face.
"The difference is too big." Kirito muttered a sentence, then looked at the guard and charged up alone; the guard, which had already become low-health, was simply impossible to pose any threat to him.
And Kaede had time to observe the surroundings at this moment.
The strategy on the boss's side seemed to be going very smoothly. However, Kaede looked at the boss and remembered the content in that little booklet. Was the weapon behind it really a scimitar? Why didn't it look like one to Kaede?
Then, it was simple: the record in that little booklet was absolutely wrong, or it had been altered. And this slight change could determine a person's life or death.
Therefore, the group of people fighting the boss over there were all in danger of losing their lives.
However, Kaede tilted her head. What did the lives of those guys have to do with her? Nothing! Thinking of this, Kaede put her gaze back on Kirito's fight. Even with the boss battle over there that could threaten their lives, Kaede felt it wasn't as impressive as Kirito's fighting; there was a qualitative difference between them.
And although Kirito had said not to imitate him, it had to be said that Kirito's fighting was still very meaningful for her to learn from.
Watching Kirito fight, Kaede had absolutely no intention of reminding that group that the boss's weapon had changed. At this moment, Kaede obviously didn't realize that her indifference toward that group would cause her to taste for the first time what it meant to feel heartache.
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the fanfiction has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 or more chapters in advance over on my patreon: patreon.com/FTLGenBen
Also every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone, Thanks.